The Kingdom Way

The BasicsThe Theology of the Kingdom(c) Kingdom 2011

There IS a Problem

 In Acts, 120 people turned the world upside down

 What is different today? Millions of Christians are in the US The world isn't turning upside down The world is turning the church

upside down? Why?Acts 1:3  And to whom he gave clear and certain signs that he was

living, after his death; for he was seen by them for forty days, and gave them teaching about the kingdom of God…

The Church Era

 A tree is known by its fruits The current Church Era is fruitless Most Christians don't share their

faith Most Christians don't make disciples Most churches spend their budget

primarily on their own needs1 Corinthians 4:120b  .. the kingdom of God is not talk, but real power.

A New Era

 Many say that the Era is changing

From - The Church Era

To - The Kingdom Era

 What is the difference?Mat 21:43  This is why I am telling you that the kingdom

of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will make it produce fruit.

The Church Era In the current Church Era

The local Church is considered the Core Unit of the body of Christ.  A core unit is the smallest part that has all it needs to do the work.

Attending Church is considered the dividing line between being 'good' Christians or being backsliders/unsaved

The local Church is considered responsible for doing God's work on earth

Matthew 15:7  Hypocrites!• How right Isaiah was when he prophesied about you:8  `These people respect me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.9  It does no good for them to worship Me. They teach rules made by man, not

God.´" (Isa. 29:13)

The Kingdom Era and the Local Church In the Kingdom Era, the "Local Church" is  no longer

considered the Core Unit - the unit with all it needs to function

The Commuity is considered the Core Unit Think about it this way... The Church in Ephesus, The Church in Corinth

To see the details... 20 Slides describe what this means...   The Core Unit

Ephesians 4:15-16  When we speak the truth with love, we will grow up into Christ in every way. He is the Head. He is the Source. The whole body is joined and held together with each joint that helps it. It grows with love and builds itself up. Each part does its job.

Church and MeIn the Church Era

 Good Christians go to church  "Backsliders" don't go to church  We are supposed to go to church to

 Meet with God  Find fellowship and connection  Find our place of service  Find strength and encouragement

The Kingdom is what Christ came to witness. He announced everywhere he went “the kingdom of heaven is very near” (Mat 10:7). He told his disciples that he was sent to deliver the Good News about God’s Kingdom (Luke 4:43). He announced that the kingdom is a new Covenant when He described the end of the law and the beginning of the Good news about the kingdom of God (Luke 16:16).

The Kingdom Era and Me

I understand that the Kingdom is WITHIN me  Where I and other believers are is where 'church' is. 

We can experience these things anywhere... Meet with God, find fellowship, find my place of

service, find peace and encouragement. In the Kingdom Era, I  might ALSO go to my church to

serve and be served by ministries my church provides:  Ministry of the Word, Ministry of Worship, Sunday School, Youth Ministry, etc.

Luke 17:20-21 Some of the Pharisees asked Jesus, "When will the kingdom of God come?" Jesus answered, "God's kingdom is not coming in such a way that you will be able to watch it. People will not say, `Look, God's kingdom is here!´ or, `There it is!´ No, God's kingdom is inside of you."

The Church Era and Gathering

Many refer to the local church as the 'family of God' but...

The local church is often a collection of strangers who are hoping to learn to know each other, or sometimes they don't want to.  ;-)

Sermons and planned interaction have to consider both the 'regulars' and new comers or occasional attendees

Expectations are often low because they can cause dropouts

Acts 2:46  Every day the believers met together with the same purpose in the temple courtyard. They ate together in their homes, eating their food with joyful hearts. They were very happy.

47  The believers were praising God. All of the people liked them. More and more people were being saved every day; the Lord was adding them to the congregation.

The Kingdom Era and Gathering The Community is the Core Unit of the body of Christ,

the Church Across the community are gatherings. In some

gatherings people worship, serve and celebrate in the traditions of those who have come before

In others people gather in forms that are designed to accomodate new works and new forms of service

The key difference is that people can choose the form of gathering that supports what God has called them to accomplish, not just fulfill traditional obligations

Romans 12:5  In the same way, many people are one body in Christ. Each part is a member of the other parts.

The Church Growth Era Church Growth depends upon factors such as

these... Providing excellence in the Worship experience Learning how to connect members to the

ministries of the local church Learning how to knit visitors into the church Altar calls and follow-up Drawing people into church ministry, Sunday

School, Worship Team, Youth Ministry, etc. Meeting needs: Counseling, Food Pantries, etc. These are all GREAT and will remain. What

changes is this ...

Growth in the Kingdom Era

The Kingdom is within me.  I am responsible to learn to 'have babies' and 'teach them to walk'

I cannot expect 'the professionals' to have the babies Neither can I expect them to teach the baby the basic skills of

learning how to walk In the Kingdom many ministries abound and, as I and others

grow, we learn to serve each other, our spouses, our families, our neighbors, and of course, we congregate in various ways

Ephesians 4:13  How long? Until we are all together. We must be united in our faith and knowledge of the Son of God. We must become like a full-grown man, reaching for the greatest potential of Christ.

14  Then we will not be little children anymore. The waves will not throw us back and forth. We won't be blown away by the winds of false teaching which clever men invent to trick people into following error.

Growth and The Kingdom Era continued

What is the KEY difference between growth in the Church Era vs growth in the Kingdom Era?

The key difference is this:  Who has the responsibility?  In the Church Era: Pastors and Ministry Leaders have the

responsibility to grow the Church In the Kingdom Era: Individuals have the responsibility How can responsibility shift from the clergy to every believer?  Those stuck in the 'old wineskin' will not change Those who learn to live differently will move into the new

wineskin To change, people will need a new mindset and new skills

Ephesians 4:11  Christ appointed apostles, prophets, evangelists,• spiritual shepherds, and teachers

12  to prepare the holy people for a ministry of service, for building up the body of Christ.

My Responsiblity in the Church Era To attend Sunday Service unless there is a 'good reason'

not to be there Some churches expect all members to be at every service To do various things to minister to others in and out of

church. To bring people to church so they can find Christ and grow. To bring friends to church so the church can grow.

Give or Tithe to the church To live a good life Various other things...

Catechism and/or Church Membership Learn and follow the church rules on things like drinking, dress, etc .

James 2:14  What use is it, my brothers, for a man to say that he has faith, if he does nothing? will such a faith give him salvation?

My Responsibility in the Kingdom Era I understand.... The Kingdom is within me.  Because the Kingdom is within me, I can learn to enjoy the

benefits of the Kingdom in my life Because I enjoy the benefits of the Kingdom and love

others (Great Commandment), I do my best to help them come into the Kingdom, through the Good News (Great Commission)

I cannot learn to live out the Kingdom by myself - I learn to connect deeply and deliberately to others

Let's look at connecting in the Church and Kingdom Era

Ephesians 4:15-16  When we speak the truth with love, we will grow up into Christ in every way. He is the Head. He is the Source. The whole body is joined and held together with each joint that helps it. It grows with love and builds itself up. Each part does its job.

Connecting in the Church Era

Whereas attending services is generally considered mandatory...

Connecting to others is generally considered a 'good idea' but optional

Many types of  'ministry' connections are governed by the church.   Permission is often sought and granted, or not granted as the case may be, for ministry:  starting Bible Studies or other small group ministries, creating outreach efforts, etc.

1 Corinthians 12:17  If the whole body were an eye, how would the body hear? If the whole body were an ear, where would smelling come from?

18  God has now put each member in the body as He chose to do.19  If everything were just one member, there would be no body!20  But now, though we are many members, we are one body.

The Kingdom Era and ConnectingContinued

In the Kingdom Era, I uderstand the Kingdom is within me. I understand that the reason I am here is to be fruitful

I cannot be fruitful alone; I must connect to other believers Other believers help me learn to live the benefits/blessings given to those

in the Kingdom Bringing people into the Kingdom, having spiritual babies, depends on me. I

must connect to people to bring them into the Kingdom.  With the help of other believers, I learn to be more fruitful in bringing

people into the Kingdom, so I connect for this purpose  For those who come in the Kingdom , I am responsible to help them learn to

live the benefits/blessing of the Kingdom and be fruitful.  To do this, I must connect to them.

I understand that others need things I cannot offer; therefore I  connect those I serve to the larger community of believers

Sounds like work, huh?  Yes, it is. It will take our whole life. And, to do these things we need new skills.   

1 Corinthians 12:25  God wants no division in the body. Instead, He wants the members to care about one another.

Transitioning Eras  The good, bad and the ugly

Since the Protestant Reformation, an interesting and unfortunate thing has occurred... Every time someone stumbles upon truth,

another fracture in the body of Christ occurs

We started with Catholics and Protestants - there are now more than 1000 denominations, each with it's unique micro-focus

New Wine When the body is housed in a structure that

cannot grow, we should KNOW what to do! Jesus told us the reasonabile approach is Putting new wine into old wineskins will make for

disaster Put new wine into new wineskins Simple The Kingdom Era will be marked by new structures

and approaches to accomodate the new wineMark 2: 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins.”

Using Wisdom The RIGHT type of change Some want Revival.  I don't know about you, but I know many

ALIVE and REVIVED believers who just know 'there has to be more' Are WE waiting for GOD to move or is GOD waiting for us to

move? We should say: He has given us all we need! *

Some want Reformation.   Attempting to reform an old wineskin can damage what exists

Some want Transformation.  Transforming a house or anything else usually involves tearing down FIRST, then building up...

We are looking for a better way* 2 Peter 1:3 His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

Transfiguration

When a caterpillar turns into a butterfly, nothing is damaged or lost

The hallmark of those proclaiming the Kingdom Era should be their love for... The existing body of Christ The saints who have gone before us All those who serve in all the various ministries

and churches - honoring them

John 13:35   By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Learning to Live the Kingdom Way Learning to live the Kingdom Way is like the start of human life.  There are two parts Without those two parts coming together, life doesn't happen This document represents one part..  some of the foundational

concepts.  Only a few can plant and grow something with only the DNA of

the concepts Most need BOTH parts: They need both the concepts and they

also need to see and experience the application of the concepts.  This presentation is only 1/2 of the story.  Everywhere people are

stuggling to learn to live the Kingdom Way.  Those who succeed will become models of experience and application for all of us.

1 Corinthians 12:28  Among all those whom God called out, He put in these people: first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers; next, those who work miracles; then, people who heal diseases; people who help others; organizers; those who speak inspired languages.

Are You Learning to Live the Kingdom Way? If you feel that you and perhaps those around you are

becoming part of the Kingdom Era... If you feel that you are creating new wineskins and

seeing fruit - new believers and you are experiencing the benefits/blessing of the Kingdom like never before...

If you feel that you are deliberately building authentic Kingdom Community where individuals are learning to be fruitful...

Please share YOUR comments in the space provided below this presentation!  

Matthew 9:17  No one puts new wine into old wine bags. If they did, the old wine bags would break open, the wine would spill out, and the wine bags would be ruined. Instead, people put new wine into new wine bags and both are preserved."